Environmental Permitting and Compliance Management - Waste Operations

Background

Waste legislation can sometimes seem complex and bewildering.  Is an Environmental Permit required? Are our activities exempt?  Do existing permits need to be amended, where there are changes to reported activities?

The potentials risks of non-compliance can be significant and may include:

• fines, imposed by the Environment Agency;
• prosecution, and;
• adverse publicity, through the reporting of environmental crimes and prosecutions in the local and national press.

Therefore it is important that your activities comply with all waste management regulations and industry best practice.

It is equally important to recognise the potential opportunities of such frameworks which can focus attention on how to optimise your waste management practices.  Benefits may include reduced costs, and associated environmental risks and liabilities and enhanced reputation.

Environmental Permitting requirements

A key outcome of the Environmental Permitting Programme (EPP), a Defra, Environment Agency and Welsh Assembly Government initiative, has been the creation of a single permitting and compliance system for Waste Management Licensing and Pollution Prevention and Control.

Although the new Environmental Permitting (EP) Regulations have attempted to make existing waste management legislation more efficient, there are still considerable challenges, both technical and bureaucratic, to ensuring your operations comply with all applicable regulatory requirements.

There are two types of environmental permits that the Environment Agency can issue:

• standard permits
• bespoke permits

An Environmental Permit may be required if you:

• deposit waste;
• keep waste, i.e. store waste that you did not produce;
• treat waste, including recycling and using mobile plant, and;
• dispose of waste.

Some activities may be exempt from a requirement for an Environmental Permit. 

Whether an activity is exempt will depend on a range of factors including: how long waste will be stored and the types and quantities of wastes to be managed.

Other on-going permit management considerations may include: whether an existing Environmental Permit can be amended or a new Permit required where there is a change in reported activities.

Service Definition

Our team of consultants, many of whom have worked with a range of environmental regulatory agencies, including the Environment Agency, can help your organisation to identify, assess and mitigate environmental regulatory risks, particularly those regarding environmental permitting requirements. 

Our team of consultants can provide support on a range of issues including:

• emissions to air, land and water
• infrastructure – environmental engineering controls
• general amenity issues including noise, air quality, dust and odours
• pollution Incident management and reporting, and
• resource efficiency

Temple can provide ad-hoc support, addressing specific permitting matters, or manage your environmental permit compliance programme, ensuring all conditions and reporting requirements are met.

We are experienced in working at the cutting edge, helping to develop and implement innovative and sustainable approaches to managing waste.  Clients include the Thames Gateway London Partnership and the South East Centre for the Built Environment. 

We are currently the Technical Advisers to the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on Statutory Nuisance issues and therefore understand potential nuisance issues associated with waste management facilities. 

We have successfully represented a range of clients in negotiations with the Environment Agency and other regulatory agencies and in many instances, have been called, to represent our clients as an Expert Witness.

• review current and/or proposed activities to determine whether an Environmental Permit is required;
• take overall responsibility for managing your environmental permitting and compliance requirements;
• liaison with regulatory agencies including the Environment Agency;
• carry out gap analysis of your existing and/or proposed activities to identify potential regulatory and financial risks;
• advise on improved waste management systems, processes and procedures.

Contacts

For further details please contact Robert Lockwood or Donal Fitzgibbon on 0207 394 3700 or robert.lockwood@templegroup.co.uk, donal.fitzgibbon@templegroup.co.uk